Uncharted
by acidfinn
Summary: Tenten reflects on how the beautiful things in her life, are often deadly. [ Slight Nejiten ]


**Uncharted**

_Home sweet home..._

**&&**

There was something about the ocean that Tenten just loved.

There was something about how it was just so _beautiful_, and how they just always seemed to be _there_. Still, despite their omnipresence, she felt as though they didn't get enough appreciation. Sure, she saw people stare out in the ocean with blank looks on their faces...and yet, she always felt as though those people were insincere in that action. It was clichéd and ridiculously overrated, the ocean. In fact, almost _anyone_ could look at least semi-mature and deep and thoughtful while looking out at it.

Anyone could do that. Even Naruto.

Although she loved it, Tenten never took the time to gaze out at the ocean. It made her feel almost insincere in doing so. It was only when she'd heard of someone being lost at sea, or having been drowned in the water, that she ever set her eyes on the rolling waves. But when she did so, it was never with a sense of admiration. Instead she would glare at it and will it to go away.

There was a lot about the ocean that Tenten couldn't stand.

So instead, she'd push all thoughts of resentment out of her mind, and force herself to look away from it. Then she would decide that something as deep and uncharted at the ocean, wasn't really worth thinking about as it only made her head pound.

There was something about shuriken that Tenten just loved.

There was something about how they were just so _beautiful_ and always seemed to be _there._ She had at least a dozen of them hidden underneath the fabric of her clothing at all time. Constantly aware, and almost _alive_ in a sense to her. However they'd only announce their presence to the public under dire circumstances. Tenten was almost sorry for that. Because at the end of the die, she'd find herself sitting on the porch, in the heat of the setting sun, and gently fingering the polished metal in her calloused fingers. They felt smooth in her hands, and no matter how many times she dragged her skin over the sharp edges—though never quite hard enough to break her skin—they never felt menacing in any way.

It was only when they sliced through the air at astonishing speeds did Tenten really admire them. It was also the only time she feared them, particularly when they were headed for her. For that reason, when she pulled them out from the hooks lining the inside of the waistband of her pants, she'd shut her eyes as she hurled through the air and them whip them at her target.

The air was always uncharted, perhaps even more so than the ocean. Tenten didn't like to think about it. Instead she made her own path for them to soar through. It wasn't particularly difficult, after all, she made sure to practice every day with her teammates.

Occasionally, her focus would slip and so would her fingers. The shuriken would gently slice through the reddened skin of her palm. It was easy enough to ignore, that's what the training was partially for in the first place. But later on, when she would wash the wound and then bandage it carefully, she would shiver against the cold metal that would still be pressed against the skin of her waist.

There was a lot about shuriken that Tenten couldn't stand.

Nevertheless, when she was done fixing herself, she'd go out to the porch and bask in the glow of the orange Konoha sunset. Then she'd pull a shuriken from underneath her shirt and caress it gently with her fingers all while it caught the fading sunlight and reflected it onto her face. She'd think about sparring the next day, and decided that maybe, she'd put a little more strength into her kunai and a little more force into the shuriken as she hurled them at her opponent.

Opponent?

Tenten shook her head. Her _teammate_.

There was something about Neji, that Tenten just loved.

His eyes would lock onto hers, and Tenten knew what always came back. Two seconds later, and she had her back against the tree, her weapons stuck out from the bark all around her. Just before she said goodbye to him, his eyes would lock onto hers again, if it could even be called something like that. It was a cherished moment of precaution that came with a sense of emptiness in the soul. Her eyes would grow heavy and if her palm was bleeding from earlier, she'd wipe the dust from them with the back of her hand.

Of all the things Tenten thought about during the sunset, Neji was probably the most hard to ignore. She just _couldn't_ push the thought of becoming closer to him into the uncharted boundaries of her heart. So instead, she pushed them into the dormant, ignorant part.

Tomorrow was uncharted. Just like wherever she wanted their relationship to go.

He was beautiful.

And she realized that like most of the other beautiful things in her life, he was deadly.

Just as quickly, she also came to the conclusion that the beauty she found in him, could easily be dragged away by the ocean, or shattered by the force behind the shuriken. Tenten shook her head in disbelief at what had just crossed her mind. She'd _meant_ to say that the _life_ she found in him could be claimed by the water or by the metal star.

But that beauty? That would always be there.

As uncharted as it was.

**&& **

_...oblivion._

**fin.**


End file.
